Hi I am Sharebear and I'm in a program and the program is working really good for me. The program is called Habit-Management. The program is for oppit addicted people(HEROIN,MORFFEN,VICODEN,PERKS) stuff like that is what this program works with. The program has done me wonders already and I have only been in it for 11 days! I went for my intake on 2/2/05 and it took an hour maybe a little more then on 2/3/05 I went back and meet with the program's Doc. for my physical and then when I was all done with that and my order was ready I was givin my first dose of Methadone! It was 30 MG. and it didn't really make a differnce but with this program you don't get kicked out for useing while you are on assment because the program wants you to be comfortable they don't want you to be SICK! So the first day I did a total of 5 bags. And the Second day I got 40 MG. I only did 3 bags! Since 2/6/05 I have done 0 bags of HEROIN!!! Before the program I was doing 30-60 bags a day! It took me 5 bags just to make it to the bathroom I was scared that I was going to die!!!!! My habit was out of control and THANKS to this program I am back to my happy self! And the program is NOT just methadone there is more to it then your dose. You have a counsler that meets with you once a week and is there is 4 group's that are mandatory. They are very helpful! And I am posting this because I had tried back in December to get into another place called Habit-Management in Springfield MA. I was told there was no openings there but there was an opening in Greenfield so I called the Chicoppee office to set-up an intake for the Greenfield MA. office and just because I had insurance from the State of Vermont(Vermont Madicaid) the opening was not available to me! So it came January and my habit just got worse and I was now living and taking care of my Gramfather in Vermont and the only thing they offer here in Vermont is Saboxon and I never found out about it till' January15,2005 so I called and they sent me home they said my habit was to big the Doc there would not help me! No one ever gave me a place that handled a habit as nig as mine was till' I lost it and called every place I could get phone numbers for and I found the place I am at!!!!! So if you are having problems finding a place to help try Habit-Management! If you don't have insurance or they don't take your insurance it is no more then what your habit is a week! I know that in the tri-state area it is 105.00 a week! And you end up with no cravings and it has a half life of 24 hours!
Good job my friend I for one am a great believer in Harm Reduction programs, there are so many things that you now do not have to worry about, like overdoses and death, dirty needles and dope sickness, and the list goes on.
Sure maintenance programs are controversial, but the expectation that everyone can just abstain fron using is not realistic, and for those like yourself, who can at least get off the hard dope, I say well done.
Dear Sharebear,
I have been on Methadone for almost 6 yrs now. I got on it in August of 2002. I was doing Dilated, and anything else you could think of, but my DOC was K-4's. I am very thankful that methadone was there when I needed it. It did help me get back to normal, and not be the junky I had become. You know the drill when you are using. Not wanting to take a shower because it will ruin you high. Doing anything and everything you can just to get that last hit. I was shooting anywhere from 6-10 dilauted(however you spell it) a day. It was horrible. From the time I woke up till the time I went to bed it was about the pills. I have two kids, and even then they were one and two yrs old. I was a horrible mother. I know I was, and I hate myself for that. I love my kids more than anything in this life and I would die for them in a heart beat, but because of the drugs I was not myself and did things that I thought that I would never do. I am so ashamed of myself for my past. I mean my kids were always in a safe place whether they were at my mom's or my husbands mom's. Still I was not the mother I needed to be or the mother they needed me to be.
Finally one day my neighbor came to me and said Christie I don't know what is going on over here, and I am not going to pretend like I do, but I know whatever it is it isn't good. She said Christie you are a sweet girl, and I know you love your kids, and if you don't straighted up then you are going to lose your kids. That was like a wake up call to me. Cause even through all of the drugs I still loved my kids and I did not want to lose them. So the very next day I went to a hospital and admitted myself, and told them that I was going to commit suicide if they did not take me. That is the only way I knew they would let you in. I was not going to commit suicide. I just had to tell them that. Anyway! I was in there for a week, and I got out and I was not strong enough to stay away. I used again. Well the next week I got on Methadone, and it was a life saver. It made me normal again. It made me a better mother.
Well now I have been on it for 6 yrs. It is time to get off. They say that it does no harm to your body, and that is not true. I can definately feel my health going down and I know it is because of the Methadone. I feel tired all the time, and it is hard to focus. I know that I have had alot more health problems since I have been on methadone. I mean I Thank GOD that it was there when I needed it, but it is definately not for extended yrs of use. the only problem is that only 25% of people who try to come off stay clean. Either they start using again, or they get back on methadone. I am planning to get on Saboxon now. They say that it is easier to come off of saboxon than methadone. It doesn't get in your bones like methadone does, it doesn't make you gain the weight. Overall it is better for you. The only problem is getting a DR. to prescibe it to you. If I had one ounce of advice for you it would be that methadone is good for about a yr maybe two, but I do not want anyone, even if I don't know them, to hurt by methadone. I mean it is a given that we are going to have to hurt eventuallly for the things that we have done. That is inevitbable. It is my opinion that I would not go up that high of a dose. My husband went up to 135 mgs. When he came off he had ceziers, and he was sick as a dog. Of course treatment for everyone is different, but one thing is sure that methadone gets in you bones, and so into you system that coming off is almost impossible. It's not impossible, it just is very hard. Just a thought. Trying to help one person not make the same mistakes that me and my husband did. Good Luck, and I hope that you know that Jesus Christ never takes us where he can not protect us. Know that Jesus Loves you and he is the only one that can take the cravings away. I know that he is all powerful, and he loves us that is why he died for us on the cross. Well it was nice to get to tell you my story. I wish you the best.
Best Wishes ,
Christie
Hi Christie and welcome to our site. I really don't know how all this works, never having used drugs. I only drank a boat load. Is it possible to just wean yourself off the methadone and not have to go on anything else?
I'm so glad that you found us and shared a very personal part of your life with us. Again, welcome to the site and keep coming back.
today is the next step in the journey......paw
Well, wow, welcome everyone! I have over 20 years of experience with the opiate drugs. Getting, using, withdrawing, weaning, detoxing and trying to stay stopped. And it ain't easy!! But, it can be done. My heroin habit was 800 to 1200 bucks a day. My methadone habit, and yes, it DID become a habit, was 165 mg a day. I've been detoxed with Buprenorphine - an injection that is now marketed as a pill called Suboxone - 4 times and never used it for maintenance. I haven't used heroin since 2002. I haven't used Dilaudid since Dec. 08. I used morphine 15 days ago. I am 14 days clean today. I sleep 12 hours a day and I'm up all night and I know it gets better because I've had several years clean before. I took, according to the script printouts, at least, 975 narcotic pain pills last year. Reality, I can't take any kind of narcotics, not even Tylenol 3. I have found that if there is a narcotic in my body, my body wants MORE. And MORE will kill me.
Sharebear, aramax is right. Methadone is what got me off the streets and gave me a life again. However, I paid a terrible price for it. I gained 100 lbs, my teeth rotted, and my hair was falling out. It killed my spirit just as the dope did. I kicked cold and was in withdrawals for over a month. Didn't sleep 7 hours until I was 4 months clean. Sat up at night just rocking, wondering, 'am I ever going to feel normal again?'. The answer to that question was yes.
Kelly, Suboxone is what is called an agonist-antagonist drug. It has a 'ceiling effect'. Most people don't get high from it, but some do. The ceiling effect means you can only use so much of the drug for keeping symtoms away or getting high but if you use too much the effects will reverse and will put the body in withdrawal. It IS an opiate that is equivalent to morphine. It does not have a 'block effect' that methadone does, so the answer to your question is YES, you can still get high on hydro/oxycodone, hydro/oxymorphone, demerol and heroin.
Christi, I feel you. There came a point when being maintained on methadone just wasn't cutting it anymore. Hang in there and let me know how I can help.
I have not found any easy, pain-free way off of narcotics. I have to take another recovering addict to the doctor with me because I don't trust myself to be honest with her. If I have to have a narcotic then I will have to be admitted to the hospital and another recovering addict has to be present to make sure the doc knows the deal. I can't take drugs as prescribed. Control is impossible for me. I left an NA convention in so much pain all I could think about was getting home and going to the ER to get some pain pills. My solution? I prayed. I mean I PRAYED MY ASS OFF. This isn't about religion, not even about 'God'. I prayed to a spirit called LIFE. Ease my pain and take away the obsession for narcotics. There is NO guarantee that if I'm clean today that I won't use tomorrow. No matter how far away I get from my last use, my next use is always closer. If I continue to feed the spirit of disease within me I will die from the disease. I MUST learn how to feed the spirit of life within me. Which means I must be willing to change.
Keep posting everyone, this forum is growing by leaps and bounds!
Blessed Be, Janice
It's always OK in the end, if it's not, then it's not the end.
aramax: Good job my friend I for one am a great believer in Harm Reduction programs, there are so many things that you now do not have to worry about, like overdoses and death, dirty needles and dope sickness, and the list goes on. Sure maintenance programs are controversial, but the expectation that everyone can just abstain fron using is not realistic, and for those like yourself, who can at least get off the hard dope, I say well done.
Getting off of "hard drugs" is one thing, staying sober and relieving yourself of the mental obsession, insanity and inability to cope with life is another. When the pain gets great enough you will seek a change. Good job so far but dont think your journey is over!
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Hello,
My name is dani and I am extremely proud of you. Last Sept of 08 I started Methadone Maintenance program. It was the best and worst thing I could have done :) It was amazing because I was actually normal for a while, however, the clinic that I went to was not a great one. I lost insurance and they detoxed me in 5 days from 100 mg. I started using bags again and I had to use 3 just to get off sick. SO my experience coming off was horrible...BUT as long as the clinic is ran the right way, then this could be the start of a new life for you. I would like to know how you are doing presently and if you are still there. God Bless and I hope to hear from you!
Methadone is what got me off the streets and gave me a life again. However, I paid a terrible price for it. I gained 100 lbs, my teeth rotted, and my hair was falling out. It killed my spirit just as the dope did. I kicked cold and was in withdrawals for over a month. Didn't sleep 7 hours until I was 4 months clean.
Drug Rehab
Hi kelly10. suboxone was designed to discourage use of opiods including heroin. If you take heroine while on suboxone you will burst into precipitated withdrawal. Please check this link for more info: http://www.sober.com/suboxone-vs-subutex.html.
The euphoric effect of heroin is also blocked.